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Typography for Genealogists : Linux Libertine and Biolinum

Linux Libertine Typeface Sample

One of my favorite typefaces these days is the Linux Libertine/Biolinum family. The serif Linux Libertine and the sans serif Linux Biolinum family is a set of fonts in a more complete array than one normally gets in a free package. Including the typical roman (yes, it is lower case), bold, and italic, you get

Capitals

Slanted (or Oblique)

Display

Initials

These are more than the default system-installed Times New Roman includes. The Capitals (true small caps) has a far better presentation than the usual word-processor “small caps” feature. In most word processing programs, the default size and shape of the font is squished and scaled to some smaller degree than normal, and it does look squished. The Linux Libertine Capitals font is designed from the ground up to be a perfect match to the rest of the line of text it is paired with.

Unfortunately, the above paragraph is no longer true, as the Capitals were removed from the packages available.

The John¹ Burbank Descendants family sketch I posted last year uses the Linux Libertine typeface fonts roman, Capitals, and Slanted. The Display and Initials fonts are for other uses than usually found in genealogical text. The Display can be used as titling, for instance, and the Initials for decorative touches.

Despite their name, Linux …, they are universally usable Unicode typefaces. You can use them as defaults on a Windows 7 machine. Try them out from the official site (English version).